Helicopter pilot Jon Welsh tours damaged areas from May 20 on foot

SHAWNEE – Bob Moore Chopper 4 pilot, Jon Welsh toured tornado damaged areas of Shawnee and Moore Oklahoma. He originally reported on the tornadoes of May 19th and 20th from his helicopter, but today he walked through areas hit hard to see the damage up close.

“Seeing all of this devastation is intense. It’s tough to look at from 800 feet in the air, but when you are standing right next to it, you can see how the tornado just mowed through this area of Shawnee ,” said Welsh. He visited with Gerald Kirkus, (in green shirt next to Jon Welsh) clearing trees that were snapped like toothpicks and scattered across his property on the outskirts of town.

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Later in the day, Welsh walked through parts of Moore and pointed out a playground that he used to take his daughters to that was heavily damaged and littered with debris. “I had a lot of fun with my kids there but it’s hard to look at now,” said Welsh.

Welsh pointed out a styrofoam boogie board that pierced through the upper part of a house. “Do you know how fast that had to be going to penetrate the wood?” he asked rhetorically.

Welsh knows that there were several towns devastated by twisters on May 19th and 20th and said he will come back periodically to check up on how people are rebounding from these devastating storms.